How To Thinks Positively (2)

Combating Negative Thoughts

Identify your automatic negative thoughts. In order to shift away from the negative thinking that is holding you back from having a positive outlook, you'll need to become more aware of your "automatic negative thoughts". When you recognize them, you're in a position to challenge them and give them their marching orders to move right out of your head.a

• An example of an automatic negative thought is, upon hearing that you have an upcoming test, you think, “I’ll probably fail it.” The thought is automatic because it’s your initial reaction to hearing about the test.

Challenge your negative thoughts. Even if you have spent most of your life thinking negatively, you don’t have to continue being negative. Whenever you have a negative thought, particularly an automatic negative thought, stop and evaluate whether the thought is true or accurate.

• One way to challenge negative thoughts is to be objective. Write down the negative thought and think about how you would respond if someone else said the thought to you. It’s likely that you could offer an objective rebuttal to someone else’s negativity, even if you find it difficult to do for yourself.
• For example, you may have the negative thought, “I always fail tests.” It is unlikely that you would still be in school if you always fail tests. Go back through your files or grades and find tests that you received a passing grade on; these challenge the negative thought. You may even find that you have tests that you passed with As and Bs, which would further confirm that your negativity is exaggerated.

Replace the negative thoughts with positive thoughts. Once you're feeling confident that you can spot and challenge negative thoughts, you're ready to make active choices about replacing negative thoughts with positive ones. This doesn't mean that everything in your life will always be positive; it’s normal to have a variety of emotions. However, you can work to replacing the daily unhelpful thinking patterns with thoughts that help you to flourish.

• For example, if you have the thought, “I will probably fail the test,” stop yourself. You’ve already identified the thought as negative and evaluated its accuracy. Now try replacing it with a positive thought. A positive thought doesn’t have to be blindly optimistic, such as “I will definitely get a 100 on the test, even if I don’t study.” It can be something as simple as, “I am going to take time to study and prepare so I do as well on the test as I can.”

Minimize external influences that stimulate your negativity. You may find that certain kinds of music or violent video games or movies influence your overall attitude. Try minimizing your exposure to stressful or violent stimuli and spend more time listening to calming music or reading. Music benefits your mind really well and books on positive thinking can provide good tips for being a happier person.

Avoid "black-and-white thinking." In this type of thinking, also known as “polarizing,” everything you encounter either is or it isn't; there are no shades of gray. This can lead people to feel as though they have to do something perfectly or not at all.

• To avoid this type of thinking, embrace the shades of gray in life. Instead of thinking in terms of two outcomes (one positive and one negative), make a list of all of the outcomes in between to see that things aren't as dire as they seem.
• For example, if you have a test coming up and don’t feel comfortable with the subject matter, you may be tempted to not take the test or to not study for it at all, so if you fail, it’s because you didn’t even try. However, this is ignoring the fact that you’re likely to do better if you spend more time preparing for the test.
• You should also avoid thinking that the only outcomes of your test-taking are an A or an F. There is a lot of “gray area” between the A and the F.

Avoid "personalizing". Personalizing is making the assumption that you are personally to blame for anything that goes wrong. If you take this type of thinking too far, you can get paranoid and think that no one likes you or wants to hang out with you, and that every little move you make is going to disappoint someone.

• Someone who is personalizing may think, "Betty didn't smile at me this morning. I must have done something to upset her." However, it's more likely that Betty was just having a bad day, and her mood had nothing to do with you.

Avoid "filter thinking." This is when you choose to only hear the negative side of a situation. Most situations have elements that are both good and bad, and it helps to recognize both. If you think this way, then you'll never see the positive in any situation.

• For example, you may take a test and receive a C, along with feedback from your teacher saying that your performance improved greatly from the last test. Filtering can cause you to only think negatively about the C and ignore the fact that you have shown improvement and growth.

Avoid "catastrophizing." This is when you assume that the worst possible outcome is going to happen.^[14] Catastrophizing is usually related to anxiety about performing poorly. You can combat catastrophizing with being realistic about possible outcomes of a situation.

• For example, you might think that you’re going to fail an exam you’ve been studying for. A catastrophizer will then extend that insecurity to assume that you’ll then fail the class and have to drop out of college, then end up unemployed and on welfare. If you’re realistic about negative outcomes, you’ll realize that even if you were to fail a test, it’s unlikely that you would necessarily fail the course, and you would not have to drop out of college.

Visit a peaceful place. It can help to have a personal escape when you need to turn your attitude around. Many people find that spending a little time outdoors improves their mood.^[15]

• If your workplace has an outdoor area with benches or picnic tables, schedule yourself a little down time to be outside and refresh yourself.
• If you are unable to physically visit an outdoor peaceful place, try meditating and visiting a pleasant outdoor area with perfect weather in your mind.^[16]

How to Think Positively (1)

Assessing Your Thinking

Having a positive outlook is a choice. You can choose to think thoughts that elevate your mood, throw a more constructive light on difficult situations, and generally color your day with brighter, more hopeful approaches to the things you do. By choosing to take a positive outlook on life, you can begin to shift out of a negative frame of mind and see life as filled with possibilities and solutions instead of worries and obstacles. If you want to know how to think more positively, just follow these tips.

Understand the benefits of being a positive thinker. Choosing to think more positively will not only help you take control of your life and make your everyday experiences more pleasant, but it can also benefit your mental and physical health as well as your ability to deal with change. Being aware of these benefits can help you be even more motivated to think positively on a regular basis.^[1]Here are some benefits of positive thinking:

• An increased life span
• Lower rates of depression and distress
• Greater resistance to the common cold
• Better mental and physical well-being
• Better coping skills during times of stress
• A more natural ability to form relationships and cement bonds

Take responsibility for your attitude. You are solely responsible for your thoughts, and your outlook on life is a choice.^[2] If you tend to think negatively, you are choosing to think that way. With practice, you can choose to have a more positive outlook.

Keep a diary to reflect your thoughts. Recording your thoughts can enable you to step back and evaluate patterns in your thinking. Write down your thoughts and feelings and try to spot any triggers that lead to either positive or negative thoughts. Taking just twenty minutes to follow your pattern of thinking at the end of every day can be a valuable way to identify your negative thoughts and make a plan to change them to positive thoughts.

• Your journal can take on any form that you like. If you don’t care to write long-winded reflective paragraphs, you can just make a list of the five most prevalent negative thoughts and positive thoughts you had that day.
• Be sure to give yourself the time and opportunity to evaluate and reflect on the information in the journal. If you write every day, you may want to reflect at the end of every week.

Wise Words

God does not require us to succeed; He only asks us to try. "

"Remorse for the day yesterday, and the fear of tomorrow are two thieves who take joy today"


"Sometimes God remove an instant sun, then he bring thunder and lightning also, satisfied we cried find where the sun ?? Apparently God wants a present we rainbow"


"And when there is a problem do not say" O God, My problem is Great !! "but say," O my problem !!! That God is Great !!!! "
sure just the same God because every problem can be solved if God willing, we want to work "


"Love and love your mother, actually 1 roses that you give to your mother much better than 1000 roses you gave on the grave mother when mother is gone"

"Unemployment is not due to the narrowness of jobs, but because of the narrowness of spirit to work with open heart"


"A friend is if the world gave you a thousand sadness, then he'll give you a million happiness"

"When asked how much of the meaning of friendship? Then I will answer 'just the tip of the nail', as though cut nails and spent continuously, but he continued to grow and grow until the end of life."


"Great is to do a common thing in an unusual way."

"Do not use those to build the Great Work, But Use The work was to build the Great"


"People do not care how much you know until they know how much you care"

"Rule number one for the people who truly civilized man is to let different"


"During my life, I never had any lessons from those who agree with me"

"Getting the respect of those you respect more valuable than the applause of many people"


"Be a tree that is in the side of the road and a lot of fruit, thrown the stones but rewarded with fruit"

"Anyone can criticize, denounce, and complain. But only the character who can control themselves to understand and forgive."


"I'll find a way, or I will make a way"

"Could but HARD !, or difficult but CAN !?"


"Working fixed or fixed Work ??"

"You're got a 'problem' or get 'Challenge' ??? all depends on your attitude"

The History of the Indonesian nation

The history of the birth of the nation of Indonesia is quite long and can not be separated from efforts Vereenigde Oost Indische Companie (VOC) which followed the Dutch Government to divide the people of the archipelago, through the wisdom of the population election. But the reaction of the people of the archipelago even want to come together and grouped on the basis of similarity: a residence, place of origin and religion. This is the spirit of unity in pluralism embryo is formed.

      Political Ethics in the European Movement held also in the archipelago with the intent to repay the people. Premises so people will easily set up by the Dutch. It turns out that this movement was welcomed by the movement and assisted by the rulers lokal.Para movement leaders and education efforts to establish schools for the pribumi.Boedi Utomo is the first indigenous community organization providing education to the natives. The natives became thirsty reading and science pengetahuan.Sastra West began diterjemahakan and published in Malay and Javanese who ultimately uplifting egaliter.Dari egalitarian evoke the spirit of national consciousness and politics, which later became a political movement that eventually Indonesia. Therefore, Ben Anderson argues that the nation state is an imagined community that is united.

Understanding State

      State according to Logemann is a community organization that aims to regulate power and organize a society. Furthermore, according to Max Weber State is a political structure that is governed by law, which includes a human community living in a particular region and considers the area concerned as belonging to them for shelter and livelihood (Naning, 1983: 3-4). There procurement and maintenance procedures regularity (law) for the life of them.There monopoly ownership and legitimate use of force fission (legitemasi). Thus the state is a tool of people to organize the relationship between humans and humans with the State. The existence of the State legitemasi, this organization can legally force powers against all the diversity in the community. There are three properties that is sovereignty. First, the nature of the force that the state has the power to use physical violence as a legitimate (legal) to be orderly and safe. Second, the nature of the monopoly that has the right and power of the country single in setting common goals of the community / nation. Third, the nature of covering all that is all legislation concerning everyone, both citizens and non-citizens.

      According to the Convention required Montevido 3 constitutive conditions. First there must be a region, which is an area that has been declared as belonging to the nation, and the boundaries set by international treaty. Secondly there must be people, ie people who inhabit the region and may consist of the various groups / social diversity; which must abide by the law and the legitimate government. Thirdly there must be a government, which is an organization that is entitled to organize and authority to formulate and implement laws that bind citizens.

      Furthermore, according to Prof. Dr. Sri Soemantri SH (Diknas, 2001: 50) can also be added there is recognition of the sovereignty of other countries. Sovereignty is an absolute element that must exist and is a characteristic that distinguishes between government organizations with prganisasi community / social. To be able to face the opponent, the state reserves the right to claim the loyalty of the citizens. Similarly, you can add any destination country express / implied by the constitution.

General Definition

            Country is a region on the surface of the earth that power both political, military, economic, social and cultural regulated by the government are in the region. The state also is an area that has a system or rules that apply to all individuals in the region, and stand independently.

            The primary requirement is to have a state of the people, has the region, and has a sovereign government. While the secondary requirement is received recognition from other countries.

Some understanding of the State by state experts:

George Jellinek: The state is the organization of the power of a group of people who inhabit a particular area.

GWF Hegel: The state is the organization of decency that appears as a synthesis of individual freedom and universal freedom.

Logeman: State is a community organization (bondage) whose objective was to set up and maintain a certain community with his power.

ORIGINS OF OCCURRENCE STATE HISTORICAL FACT BASED

Occupation (Occupatie)

      This occurs when an area that is not man's and yet mastered, then occupied and controlled. For example, Liberia occupied Negro slaves were freed in 1847.

Melting (fusion)

      This occurs when small countries that inhabit the region entered into an agreement to merge with each other or united into a new state. For example, the formation of the German Federation of 1871.

Submission (Cessie)

      This occurs when an area is handed over to other countries under a specific agreement. For example, Region Sleeswijk in World War I handed over by Austria to Prussia, (Germany).

Raising (Accesie)

      This occurs when a region formed by raising the Mud River or from the seabed (Delta). Later in the area inhabited by a group of people forming the state. For example, the Egyptian state region formed from the Nile Delta.

Announcements (Proclamation)

      This occurs because an area that was once a colony abandoned. So that residents of the area can be declared independence. For example, in Indonesia, which never left Japan because at that time the Japanese bombed by the Americans in the area of ​​Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Theories about the origin or the theory of state formation can be viewed from two aspects, namely the speculative theory and evolutionary theory.

1. The theory is speculative

      This theory includes theocratic theory, the theory of community agreements, and the theory of strength or power.

a. Theory Theocracy (divinity) according to the theory of divinity, everything in the world is the existence of the will Allohu glory to Him, so that the state is essentially rests on the will of God. Adherents of this theory is Fiedrich Julius stah, which states that the state grew gradually through a gradual process starting from the family into a nation.

b. The theory of public agreement. In this theory appears three most famous figures, namely Thomas Hobbes, John Locke and JJ Rousseau. According to this theory states that arise because of an agreement made between people who had been living free spirit, apart from each other without bonding state. This Agreement is held so that common interests can be maintained and guaranteed, so that "a person who is not a wild animal for others" (homo homini lupus, according to Hobbes).

c. Theory of power / strength. According to the theory of power / strength, the formation of the state based on the power / strength, for example melaluipendudukan and conquest. Judging from the theory of strength, the emergence of the first countries, or stems from the existence of several groups within a tribe, each headed by a chief (progenitor). Then the various groups living in a competition for land / territory, where they get food source. Further result they then attempt to beat a rival group.

Characteristically 2. Theory of Evolution

            The theory of evolution or historical theory is a theory which states that the institutions - social institutions are not made, but grow evolutionarily fit the needs - human needs. As a social institution that is intended to meet needs - human needs, the agency - the agency was not immune from the influence of the place, time, and demands - demands of the times. According to evolutionary theory is the country is historically-social (of the family into the country). Included in this theory is the theory of evolution, among others, the laws of nature. Based on the theory of natural law, the state occur naturally.

Element - the element of state formation

1. People are people who live in a country or become residents of a particular region. People defined as a group of people who are united by a sense of equality and equality and together occupy an area of ​​the country.

Understanding people with residents and citizens of different countries, and the other one is a concept that is similar but not identical.

People of a country divided into two, namely:

a. residents and non-residents. Residents are people who live or lived in a country, being a non-resident is a person who is in a region of a country and are not intended to stay or settle in the country.

b. citizens and non-citizens. Citizen is the person who is legally a member of a country, while not a citizen called foreigners or foreign nationals.

2. The area is a place where humans and also in the hold state government. Region is a room consisting of soil, land, water, air space and territorial exist thereon.

3. sovereign government

The government has sovereignty that is:

a. Original, sovereignty was not derived from any other higher power.

b. Permanent, it will exist as long as the sovereignty of the state is still standing. In a perpetual state sovereignty, because sovereignty will remain there even though his administration has changed.

c. Not divided, sovereignty is the only supreme power in the country.

d. Not limited to, sovereignty was not restricted by anyone.

4. Recognition of other countries

Recognition can be distinguished from other countries are de facto and de jure

a. The recognition of de facto recognition of the reality of a country that can make contact with other countries that recognize it.

b. De jure recognition is officially recognized by the law of another State with all its consequences.

Classical Education – What exactly is it?

First, let’s look at the history of classical education and what happened over the years.  With the permission of Diane Lockman, from Classical Scholar, I reprinted her articles that speak precisely to this question:

Where did classical education originate, and how has it been adapted over the years?

National leaders on two continents have been successfully trained by the classical method for over two thousand years. The “paideia” of the ancient Greeks referred to the process of forming an enlightened mature mind. Unlike today, the paideia was not concerned with preparing students for jobs; rather, learning led to the mental discipline to discuss abstract ideas like truth, beauty, and justice. Adopting the Greek idea of classical education, the ancient Romans created a system of study called the “seven liberal arts” which were divided into two phases. Beginners mastered the three skills of the trivium (grammar, logic, and rhetoric) before moving on to the quadrivium. There is evidence in the writings of the Apostle Paul that he received a Jewish adaptation of the classical trivium.

After the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century a.d., classical education as a method of learning appeared to disappear; however, in the 9th century, Emperor Charlemagne revived and Christianized classical education in Europe when he opened the Palace Schools to perfect Christian leaders. Scripture and the writings of early Christian leaders were incorporated into the content. During the late 11th century, loose confederations of teachers and apprentices gathered in what was called the “universitas” to study the seven liberal arts. Students joined the the universitas at 14 or 15 years of age and began mastering the three skills of the classical trivium. Classes were taught in homes or churches. Study centered around great writers and their books, not subjects. By the 13th century, three more liberal arts were added at the graduate level: law, medicine, and theology.

With the colonization of America, classical education crossed the Atlantic and took a new twist. Educational institutions were established in the mid-1800s to control the rapidly expanding immigrant population, and initially a form of the ancient classical education was taught in the twelve-year common school format. Instead of teaching the three skills of the classical trivium, “classical” subjects like Latin and Logic were incorporated in the curriculum. By the early 1900s, the lack of qualified teachers meant that even a classical variation was no longer possible for American public school children, and classical education once again appeared to fade into antiquity.

During the 1980s, the twelve-year common school variation of classical education was reborn within the homeschooling movement. Inspired by a lecture given by author Dorothy Sayers in the 1940s, several homeschool educators adopted her premise that the three skills of the classical trivium might correlate with the chronological development of the child. These reformers chose to embrace the idea of stages instead of the “lost tools of learning” that Sayers lamented. Thus, the contemporary version of classical home and private school education generally follows a three stage trivium with artificial milestones established as follows: grammar stage covers grades 1-4, logic stage covers grades 5-8, and rhetoric stage emcompasses grades 9-12. Some reformers, myself included, believe that teaching three skills concurrently is more historically accurate and avoids the trappings of the 12 year public school paradigm.

What is the classical trivium, and what is the purpose?

Prior to the introduction of the classical curriculum in the public school systems, the three skills of the classical trivium were taught concurrently, not consecutively as subjects or as stages. In fact, the Latin word “trivium” means the intersection of three roads. You can visualize the simultaneous travels on these three roads if you imagine a three-dimensional cube – width represents one skill, length represents another skill, and depth represents another. Within the mass of this cube, there are multiple points where all three planes come together or intersect. It is this intersection, mastery of language, thought, and speech, that drives the curriculum in the early childhood to preteen years.

Working on the classical trivium is like that imaginary cube. A student can be acquiring language while he is improving his critical thinking tools and exercising his speaking skills by narrating what he’s thought and learned. Over the years you will be teaching your child all three skills with a goal of substantial mastery. When you reach this goal, your preteen or teen is ready to tackle the weightier disciplines like the abstract ideas found in the books of the Western Canon. Practically, your son or daughter needs to have such command of the English language that the vocabulary, complex sentence structure, and literary style of the classics is not overwhelming. The ability to comprehend and wrestle with the meaning of the written text is also essential. Finally, the young adult who has substantially mastered the three skills of the classical trivium is comfortable writing about abstract ideas such as freedom, compassion, and redemption. The content studied during these post-trivium years will comprise the bulk of the high school transcript.

From The Classical Scholar – Parent Workshop 101 Primer (www.classicalscholar.com)

6 New Teaching Techniques You Should Know!

Teaching techniques Education, like almost every other area of our society, has evolved in leaps and bounds in recent years. Traditional teaching techniques, based mainly on a teacher explaining a topic and students taking notes, may still be useful on occasion, but education today revolves more around encouraging the student to awaken their curiosity and desire to learn. 

A number of different teaching techniques have emerged due to this change in education. Many of these teaching techniques are not actually new however! The use of technology in the classroom has simply given education a new lease of life allowing us to approach old ideas in new ways.

Outlined below are some popular teaching techniques that have arisen from the integration of technology in education.

6 Teaching Techniques You Should Know:

1. Flipped Classroom (Inverting your class):

The Flipped Classroom Model basically involves encouraging students to prepare for the lesson before class. Thus, the class becomes a dynamic environment in which students elaborate on what they have already studied. Students prepare a topic at home so that the class the next day can be devoted to answering any questions they have about the topic. This allows students to go beyond their normal boundaries and explore their natural curiosity.

ExamTime’s free online learning tools can be integrated into the Flipped Classroom teaching model. Using ExamTime, you can easily share resources with a group, in this case a class, allowing students to study these resources from home and prepare for the next class.

2. Design Thinking (Case Method):

This technique is based on resolving real-life cases through group analysis, brainstorming, innovation and creative ideas. Although “Design Thinking” is a structured method, in practice it can be quite messy as some cases may have no possible solution. 

However, the Case Method prepares students for the real world and arouses their curiosity, analytical skills and creativity. This technique is often used in popular MBA or Masters classes to analyze real cases experienced by companies in the past.

Ewan McIntosh, an advocate of Design Thinking, created The Design Thinking School as part of his “No Tosh” consulting group. No Tosh harnesses the creative practices of some of the best media and tech companies in the world to coach educators methods to implement the concept. Design Thinking for Educators also provides teachers with an online toolkit with instructions to explore Design Thinking in any classroom. Click here to download the free toolkit now.

3. Self-learning:

Curiosity is the main driver of learning. As a basic principle of learning, it makes little sense to force students to memorize large reams of text that they will either begrudgingly recall or instantly forget. The key is to let students focus on exploring an area which interests them and learn about it for themselves.

A perfect example of a teaching technique based on self-learning is outlined by Sugata Mitra at the TED conference. In a series of experiments in New Delhi, South Africa and Italy, the educational researcher Sugata Mitra gave children self-supervised access to the web. The results obtained could revolutionize how we think about teaching. The children, who until then did not even know what the internet was, were capable of training themselves in multiple subjects with unexpected ease.

A common technique for exploring self-learning is the use of Mind Maps. Teachers can create a central node on a Mind Map and allow students the freedom to expand and develop ideas. For example, if the focus is the Human Body, some students may create Mind Maps on the organs, Bones or Diseases that affect the human body. Later the students would be evaluated according to the Mind Maps they have created and could collaborate with each other to improve each others Mind Maps and come to a more comprehensive understanding of the Human Body.

4. Gamification:

teaching techniquesLearning through the use of games is a method that has already been explored by some teachers, especially in elementary and preschool education. By using games, students learn without even realizing. Therefore, learning through play or ‘Gamification‘ is a learning technique that can be very effective at any age. It is also a very useful technique to keep students motivated.

The teacher should design projects that are appropriate for their students, taking into account their age and knowledge, while making them attractive enough to provide extra motivation. One idea may be to encourage students to create quizzes online on a certain topic. Students can challenge their peers to test themselves and see who gets a higher score. In this way, students can enjoy the competition with peers while also having fun and learning.

5. Social Media:

 A variant of the previous section is to utilize social media in the classroom. Students today are always connected to their social network and so will need little motivation to get them engaged with social media in the classroom. The ways you can use this method of teaching are quite varied as there are hundreds of social networks and possibilities. 

A good example is the initiative carried out by the Brazilian Academy of Languages ​​”Red Ballon“, which encouraged students to review the tweets of their favorite artists and correct grammatical errors that they committed in an effort to improve their English language skills!

6. Free Online Learning Tools:

There is an array of free online learning tools available which teachers can use to encourage engagement, participation and a sense of fun into the classroom. Teachers can create an interactive and dynamic classroom environment using, for example, online quizzes to test student’s knowledge. 

If you haven’t used ExamTime’s free online learning tools yet, sign up now to create Mind Maps, Flashcards, Quizzes & Notes. Encourage your students to sign up to ExamTime too so you can create a Group and invite each of your students to become a member. This means you can share study resources directly with each student online and even apply the Flipped Classroom Model to your method of teaching.

Active Learning

Research consistently has shown that traditional lecture methods, in which professors talk and students listen, dominate college and university classrooms. It is therefore important to know the nature of active learning, the empirical research on its use, the common obstacles and barriers that give rise to faculty members' resistance to interactive instructional techniques, and how faculty, faculty developers, administrators, and educational researchers can make real the promise of active learning.

WHAT IS ACTIVE LEARNING AND WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?

Surprisingly, educators' use of the term "active learning" has relied more on intuitive understanding than a common definition. Consequently, many faculty assert that all learning is inherently active and that students are therefore actively involved while listening to formal presentations in the classroom. Analysis of the research literature (Chickering and Gamson 1987), however, suggests that students must do more than just listen: They must read, write, discuss, or be engaged in solving problems. Most important, to be actively involved, students must engage in such higher-order thinking tasks as analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. Within this context, it is proposed that strategies promoting active learning be defined as instructional activities involving students in doing things and thinking about what they are doing.

Use of these techniques in the classroom is vital because of their powerful impact upon students' learning. For example, several studies have shown that students prefer strategies promoting active learning to traditional lectures. Other research studies evaluating students' achievement have demonstrated that many strategies promoting active learning are comparable to lectures in promoting the mastery of content but superior to lectures in promoting the development of students' skills in thinking and writing. Further, some cognitive research has shown that a significant numbe of individuals have learning styles best served by pedagogical techniques other than lecturing. Therefore, a thoughtful and scholarly approach to skillful teaching requires that faculty become knowledgeable about the many ways strategies promoting active learning have been successfully used across the disciplines. Further, each faculty member should engage in self-reflection, exploring his or her personal willingness to experiment with alternative approaches to instruction.

HOW CAN ACTIVE LEARNING BE INCORPORATED IN THE CLASSROOM?

The modification of traditional lectures (Penner 1984) is one way to incorporate active learning in the classroom. Research has demonstrated, for example, that if a faculty member allows students to consolidate their notes by pausing three times for two minutes each during a lecture, students will learn significantly more information (Ruhl, Hughes, and Schloss 1987). Two other simple yet effective ways to involve students during a lecture are to insert brief demonstrations or short, ungraded writing exercises followed by class discussion. Certain alternatives to the lecture format further increase student level of engagement: (1) the feedback lecture, which consists of two minilectures separated by a small-group study session built around a study guide, and (2) the guided lecture, in which students listen to a 20- to 30-minute presentation without taking notes, followed by their writing for five minutes what they remember and spending the remainder of the class period in small groups clarifying and elaborating the material.

Discussion in class is one of the most common strategies promoting active learningmwith good reason. If the objectives of a course are to promote long-term retention of information, to motivate students toward further learning, to allow students to apply information in new settings, or to develop students' thinking skills, then discussion is preferable to lecture (McKeachie et al. 1986). Research has suggested, however, that to achieve these goals faculty must be knowledgeable of alternative techniques and strategies for questioning and discussion (Hyman 1980) and must create a supportive intellectual and emotional environment that encourages students to take risks (Lowman 1984).

Several additional strategies promoting active learning have been similarly shown to influence favorably students' attitudes and achievement. Visual-based instruction, for example, can provide a helpful focal point for other interactive techniques. In-class writing across the disciplines is another productive way to involve students in doing things and thinking about the things they are doing. Two popular instructional strategies based on problem-solving model include the case study method of instruction and Guided Design. Other active learning pedagogies worthy of instructors' use include cooperative learning, debates, drama, role playing and simulation, and peer teaching. In short, the published literature on alternatives to traditional classroom presentations provides a rich menu of different approaches faculty can readily add to their repertoire of instructional skills.

WHAT ARE THE BARRIERS?

To address adequately why most faculty have not embraced recent calls for educational reform, it is necessary first to identify and understand common barriers to instructional change, including the powerful influence of educational tradition; faculty self-perceptions and self-definition of roles; the discomfort and anxiety that change creates; and the limited incentives for faculty to change.

But certain specific obstacles are associated with the use of active learning including limited class time; a possible increase in preparation time; the potential difficulty of using active learning in large classes; and a lack of needed materials, equipment, or resources.

Perhaps the single greatest barrier of all, however, is the fact that faculty members' efforts to employ active learning involve risk--the risks that students will not participate, use higher-order thinking, or learn sufficient content, that faculty members will feel a loss of control, lack necessary skills, or be criticized for teaching in unorthodox ways. Each obstacle or barrier and type of risk, however, can be successfully overcome through careful, thoughtful planning.

WHAT CONCLUSIONS SHOULD BE DRAWN AND RECOMMENDATIONS MADE?

The reform of instructional practice in higher education must begin with faculty members' efforts. An excellent first step is to select strategies promoting active learning that one can feel comfortable with. Such low-risk strategies are typically of short duration, structured and planned, focused on subject matter that is neither too abstract nor too controversial, and familiar to both the faculty member and the students.

Faculty developers can help stimulate and support faculty members' efforts to change by highlighting the instructional importance of active learning in the newsletters and publications they distribute. Further, the use of active learning should become both the subject matter of faculty development workshops and the instructional method used to facilitate such programs. And it is important that faculty developers recognize the need to provide follow-up to, and support for, faculty members' efforts to change.

Academic administrators can help these initiatives by recognizing and rewarding excellent teaching in general and the adoption of instructional innovations in particular. Comprehensive programs to demonstrate this type of administrative commitment (Cochran 1989) should address institutional employment policies and practices, the allocation of adequate resources for instructional development, and the development of strategic administrative action plans.

Equally important is the need for more rigorous research to provide a scientific foundation to guide future practices in the classroom. Currently, most published articles on active learning have been descriptive accounts rather than empirical investigations, many are out of date, either chronologically or methodologically, and a large number of important conceptual issues have never been explored. New qualitative and quantitative research should examine strategies that enhance students' learning from presentations; explore the impact of previously overlooked, yet educationally significant, characteristics of students, such as gender, different learning styles, or stage of intellectual development; and be disseminated in journals widely read by faculty.

In retrospect, it appears that previous classroom initiatives and written materials about active learning have all too often been isolated and fragmented. The resulting pedagogical efforts have therefore lacked coherence, and the goal of interactive classrooms has remained unfulfilled. Through the coordinated efforts of individual faculty, faculty developers, academic administrators, and educational researchers, however, higher education in the coming decade CAN make real the promise of active learning!

SELECTED REFERENCES

Chickering, Arthur W., and Zelda F. Gamson. March 1987. "Seven Principles for Good Practice." AAHE Bulletin 39: 3-7. ED 282 491. 6 pp. MF-01; PC-01.

Cochran, Leslie H. 1989. Administrative Commitment to Teaching. Cape Girardeau, Mo.: Step Up, Inc.

Hyman, Ronald T. 1980. Improving Discussion Leadership. New York: Columbia Univ., Teachers College Press.

Lowman, Joseph. 1984. Mastering the Techniques of Teaching. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

McKeachie, Wilbert J., Paul R. Pintrich, Yi-Guang Lin, and David A.F. Smith. 1986. Teaching and Learning in the College Classroom: A Review of the Research Literature. Ann Arbor: Regents of The Univ. of Michigan. ED 314 999. 124 pp. MF-01; PC-05.

Penner, Jon G. 1984. Why Many College Teachers Cannot Lecture. Springfield, Ill.: Charles C. Thomas.

Ruhl, Kathy L., Charles A. Hughes, and Patrick J. Schloss. Winter 1987. "Using the Pause Procedure to Enhance Lecture Recall." Teacher Education and Special Education 10: 14-18.

Original Posted : http://www.ericdigests.org/1992-4/active.htm

ERIC Identifier: ED340272 

Publication Date: 1991-09-00 

Author: Bonwell, Charles C. - Eison, James A. 

Source: ERIC Clearinghouse on Higher Education Washington DC.| George Washington Univ. Washington DC. 

Active Learning: Creating Excitement in the Classroom. ERIC Digest.